The Sands of Time
by whitedoyle
Summary: Kudo Shinichi, your average high school genius. That is, until he gets knocked out and fed an experimental drug. But instead of killing him, the drug crystallizes him, transforming him into a gem. Which gem, you ask? The one Kaito Kid happens to be looking for. ShinKai/KaiShin
1. Chapter 1

_"Sorry, Ran! You go on ahead. I'll catch up later." _

_Those words…are the last ones I ever said to her. Pretty lame, huh?_

_But how could I have known then that I'd be knocked near unconscious and fed an experimental drug? How was I to know that my world would be forever altered in a single moment?_

_God, I was so arrogant then, so confident in my own deductive abilities. Kudo Shinichi, famous high school detective. Pride before the fall, eh?_

_How far have I fallen? Am I in Heaven? Or am I in Hell? Or worse yet, maybe I'm somewhere in between?_

_Where is this, this empty wasteland? It's as if someone forgot to paint the scenery on the canvas and left it white. There are no objects, no contours, no colors, just an endless expanse. _

_Logic doesn't work here. Left is up and down is right. But no matter where I go, I'm always wrong. I can walk and walk, and walk some more. But I always end up right where I start, right below that blood-stained moon. I swear, sometimes I see it dripping red, as if crying, as if mourning._

_And do I mourn? Sometimes I try, but I can't. I can't bring myself to do it. It's too easy, to break down and given up. As hopeless as the situation seems, I know there must be a solution. There must be. There's always a solution, always only one truth. _

_But time is the trier of the soul. Time wears all down, outlasts all. Can I outlast time itself? In this wasteland where logic doesn't apply? For all my deductive prowess, for all my observational skill, what use is it if there is nothing to observe, nothing to deduce. _

_Is this what death feels like? An endless drifting in an endless space? How long will I wander? How long have I wandered? _

_The worst of all is the silence. The maddening silence. Sometimes, I yell, just to hear my own voice, just to know that I can still talk, that I am still sane. But how long can I persist? _

_As long as I can._

* * *

"I wonder if I can reach it," I say, looking at the red moon. I lift my arm up, fingers extending as far as they can go. I even jump, just to get a few inches closer. But it's still up there, far, far away.

_Ran, what are you doing now?_

_If only there was something to punch in this god-forsaken place, but God had even forsaken me that. If only there was something to vent my frustration on!_

"Argh!" I scream, throwing myself on the ground. But even that is pointless; there is no pain, no sensation from smashing my body against the ground. Exhausted, more mentally than physically, I lie on my back and look up, not that there's much to see. There isn't even a sky.

"Let's go over what I know," I say aloud, just to hear my own voice. "This definitely isn't the normal world. There's nothing here except that bloody red moon. And it appears there's no way to reach it. Also, I'm not sure how much time has passed, but I don't seem to get tired or hungry. And I don't feel any pain. And..." My voice drifts off.

_All my efforts and this is the measly conclusion I draw._ I just sigh, closing my eyes, trying to think.

That's when something extra-ordinary happens, something that sends chills to my spine. It's a voice.

"I've finally found you-" the voice says, echoing across the vast expanse, "Pandora."


	2. Chapter 2

"I've finally found you-" the voice says, echoing across the vast expanse, "Pandora."

I instantly leap up off the ground, my head darting around to pinpoint the source of the voice. Is there another person in the emptiness? Am I not alone after all? I start to run off in a random direction, hoping to find whoever it is that's talking. But my efforts yield little fruit; as if on a treadmill, my running brings me nowhere, no closer to what I'm searching for. Opting for a different approach, I squint my eyes, trying to see into the distance. But that is of no avail as well; the lack of contours and depth prevent me from seeing much of anything. With one last ditch effort, I cup my hands behind my ears, hoping to catch the smallest of sounds. The voice has all but vanished, however.

Did I just imagine the voice? Is the voice merely another part of my growing madness? I sigh, about to fall back down to the ground, when the same voice surprises me again.

"You've caused me quite a bit of trouble, haven't you?" the voice asks._  
_

I can feel my heart begin to beat faster, resulting in a pounding in my ears. Either this is a grand hallucination or someone is actually talking. _But where is the source?_ I ask, again darting around. _There's absolutely nothing here, except_... My eyes slowly drift towards the red moon.

Could it be? Could the voice be coming from the red moon? I stare at the bloody moon in expectation and my diligence is soon rewarded when the unknown voice speaks again.

"But to think you were here all along," the voice says.

This confirms it. The voice is definitely coming from the red moon; it's coming from the red moon and echoing throughout the emptiness. _But how is that possible?_ Perhaps the moon is acting as a channel or sorts, much like a phone? If that is the case, then who is on the other end?

_I need to establish communication._

"Hello? Is someone there?" I call out, directing my question towards the red moon. However, there is no reply, only the familiar silence. "Hello? Can you hear me?" I repeat, louder this time.

Still, there is no response.

Is the communication only one way somehow? Perhaps I can hear the other end, but the other end cannot hear me? Disappointed and frustrated, I continue to stare at the red moon, at least hoping that the voice would speak again, if only to break the mind-numbing silence. The voice's next sentence gives me hope, however.

"W-who's talking?" the voice says, sounding quite unsure of itself.

_It heard me!_ I jump with joy. Regardless of how it is possible- after all, the entirety of the situation is rather illogical- there is hope now!

"Hello!" I call out again, rather excited. "You can hear me?" I ask the redundant question because, though I know the answer, I need to hear the voice confirm it. I need to know that this isn't just another cruel trick of my new home.

"I can. How are you doing this?" the voice asks slowly; there is obvious caution underlying the words.

"Doing what?" I reply, slightly confused by the phrasing of the question. If the voice is asking about how we are communicating, then I am just as clueless. Before I get a chance to ask, however, the voice preempts me.

"Talking directly into my mind," the voice says, and just as I think it is impossible, I am surprised again.

I'm talking directly into someone's mind? _Well, with all the illogical happenings so far, I guess I shouldn't be surprised_. "It might be because of the red moon," I reply, still staring at the glowing red circle high above my head.

"Red moon?" the voice asks, sounding more confused than before.

_Duh_, I think, hitting myself on the head for being stupid and missing the obvious. My interlocutor probably has no idea what I'm talking about. After all, how can I expect someone else to understand my strange situation? "Maybe I should start at the beginning," I suggest.

* * *

"Let me get this straight," the voice says, "You're telling me that you're Kudo Shinichi, a high school student."

"Yes," I confirm.

"And you were at an amusement park with your friend, who happens to be a girl, but not your girlfriend."

"That's right," I say.

"Then you were attacked and next thing you know, you're trapped in some bizarre null space," the voice finishes. Null space is what we decided to call the empty wasteland without contours or colors.

"Right. And while I was here, I heard a voice, your voice, calling out. And now, somehow, we can communicate through the Akai Tsuki, the red moon, that's here. It's acting almost like a telephone," I explain.

"I see," the voice says, clearly pondering something.

"What are you thinking?" I ask.

"This might just be a coincidence," the voice begins, "but this whole telepathic communication only began after I picked up Pandora."

"Right, you mentioned that earlier," I say, remembering, "What is Pandora?"

"It's a blood-red opal," the voice replies.

"A blood-red opal?" I ask, a thought suddenly sparking. My gaze instantly shifts to the Akai Tsuki. _Could it be?_

As if reading my thoughts, the voice says, "I think there might be some connection between Pandora and Akai Tsuki, Kudo-kun."

"Interesting. A very interesting mystery," I say mindlessly, my mind already racing through all the possible explanations. For a brief moment, my own unfortunate circumstances slip to the back of my mind. Perhaps in solving the mystery of the Akai Tsuki, I can finally escape this null space.

I wouldn't be able to do it alone though. That's the foolish thinking which brought me to the null space in the first place. No, I would need help to solve this mystery.

"Eto," I begin, suddenly realizing that I had no idea how to address the unknown voice.

The voice must have sensed my hesitation and replies, "Kuroba, Toichi Kuroba."

"Ah, Kuroba-kun," I say, etching the name into my mind, "about the connection between Pandora and Akai Tsuki-" I find myself pausing as unfamiliar words play on my tongue. "Can you help solve this mystery? I can't do it alone," I finally say, for the first time putting my fate in someone else's hands.

Toichi likewise pauses, pondering my request. For a brief moment, panic crosses my mind. _What if he refuses? What if he leaves me here alone in the null space?_ "Alright, Kudo-kun. I will help you with this mystery," Toichi finally says, snapping me out of my thoughts. I breath a sigh of relief. Never have I been so happy to have an ally, a friend.

My relief is short lived, however, as suddenly, the moon above begins to shake, as if on the verge of explosion.

"Kudo-kun!" Toichi calls, "the opal is reacting to something!"

"The moon is as well!" I reply, mesmerized. The moon begins to cycle through various colors: fuchsia, red, indigo, emerald, navy, daffodil, finally turning a transparent, clear color. A fuzzy shadow appears directly in the middle of the moon. Slowly, it begins to sharpen. I realize that it's a person.

"Kuroba-kun? I think I can see you," I say slowly, still staring at the moon.

"You can?" Toichi asks. From the image on the surface of the moon, I can see that he is confused.

"I think the moon is now acting like a camera of sorts," I explain, unsure what brought about the sudden change.

"Hold on," Toichi says. I see the figure in the MoonCam, the moon camera, move closer until all that's visible in the "frame" is a giant eye. "Kudo-kun, I can see you too, in Pandora." Toichi takes a step back, away from the gem, so that his entire form is once again visible. "What does this all mean, Kudo-kun?" Toichi asks.

"I'm not quite sure," I begin. But my thoughts are interrupted when a reflection in the MoonCam catches my eye. It's the barrel of a sniper rifle, located somewhere behind Toichi. "Kuroba-kun, watch out!" I scream.

My words barely come out before the MoonCam suddenly shakes. A gunshot quickly follows, the sound echoing throughout the null space.

"Kuroba-kun!"

* * *

A/N: Kaito will be in this story later. It's not going to be Toichi x Shinichi.


	3. Chapter 3

"Kuroba-kun! Kuroba-kun!" I yell repeatedly, but only a terrible silence greets me, a terrible silence and the furious pounding of my heart. I stare at the Akai Tsuki, hoping for something, anything. A movement. A sound. Anything but the horrible, horrible silence. But there is no movement; the Akai Tsuki is completely dark.

Has someone gunned down my new found ally? Is this another terrible twist of fate?

"Kuroba-kun," I mumble, about to give up hope, about to resign myself to the Null Zone. But that's when I hear a voice.

"Sorry about that, Kudo-kun. Nasty snipers and all," Toichi says calmly.

"Kuroba-kun!" I yell, overjoyed that he's still alive. "Are you-?" I begin but he cuts me off.

"Ah, one moment, Kudo-kun. I'm going to find a safer location for our little chat, alright?" Toichi says, and I relent, the Null Zone growing silent once more. I feel myself collapse onto the ground, suddenly exhausted. As I stare blankly at the Akai Tsuki above, my mind begins to wander, thinking about the situation.

_Why is there a sniper trying to kill Kuroba-kun?_ I wonder. Despite Toichi's calm demeanor, I can sense the stress underneath. The calmness is hiding some great worry, and that fact, in turn, makes me worry. _Is Kuroba-kun a wanted person?_ Normal people aren't the targets of snipers. Just who is Kuroba Toichi? Somehow, I felt that Toichi wasn't tell me the entire story, that there is another facet to this whole situation.

"Kudo-kun, are you still there?" Toichi abruptly asks, pulling me away from my thoughts.

"Did you manage to get away from the sniper?" I ask.

"For now," Toichi replies. I can hear a sigh of relief.

"Ne, Kuroba-kun," I begin but Toichi interrupts.

"Kudo-kun, I need to tell you something," he says, as if reading my mind, "I haven't told you the whole truth, about the situation, about Pandora."

For some reason, I harbor no ill feelings against Toichi for lying to me. "Go on" I say calmly.

"The truth is, I was actually hired by an organization to track down and retrieve Pandora," Toichi explains.

"Organization? What organization?" I ask, feeling the situation growing rather complicated.

"Not your usual girl-scout-cookie-selling organization," Toichi says, "But truth be told, I don't know much about the organization at all. What I do know is that the organization wants Pandora. Rumor has it that the gem can grant immortality."

"Immortality?" I mutter, rolling the thought around in my head, "Wait, Kuroba-kun, so then what was with the sniper?"

"I would imagine that was an attempt at cleaning up loose ends," Toichi says somberly.

"You mean to kill you now that you've found Pandora," I elaborate. I take Toichi's silence to be an affirmation of my conclusion. "Why would you agree to work for such a dangerous organization? You don't seem like the type," I say.

"Don't seem like the type?" Toichi repeats, laughing heartily, "Kudo-kun, you've known me for all about an hour."

"W-well," I stutter, growing red with embarrassment, "I just feel like I can trust you."

"Trust, eh?" Toichi says. Though the Akai Tsuki is still rather dark, I think I see the hint of a smile on Toichi's face. "You asked why, right? Why I'd work for such a dangerous organization? Well, the answer is simple really. To protect my family."

"Family?" I ask, prompting Toichi to continue.

"I have a wife and son, you see," Toichi reminiscent.

"And the organization threatened to hurt them if you didn't help?"

"Yes. My son's only five. I couldn't let him be involved in such a dangerous matter. For his sake, I forsook my morality and pride," Toichi says.

"I see," I say, suddenly feeling the burden that Toichi had to carry: to do something that you didn't want to do, for the sake of those you loved. "Ne, Kuroba-kun," I say, more determined than ever, "Let's solve the mystery of Pandora together. For my sake and the sake of your family."

"Kudo-kun," Toichi says, surprised by my resolve, "Do you have a plan?"

"I have an idea of where to start."

"Where?" Toichi asks.

"Tropical Land Amusement Park."

* * *

"Kudo-kun, we're here," Toichi says, breaking me away from my thoughts. I look up at the Akai Tsuki, the MoonCam once again working.

"W-what?" I manage as a rather worn down amusement park comes into view. The gate is locked and the entire place appears abandoned.

"Looks like it's been closed for a while, Kudo-kun. Are you sure this is the right place?" Toichi asks when he notices that I've grown silent.

"It should be," I say, confused, "But why does it look abandoned and run-down. It wasn't like that when I was here yester-" I pause, a sudden realization hitting me. My heart begins to race and my breathing quickens. _Can it be?_ "Kuroba-kun," I start, but then pause, unsure if I wanted to know the answer to my question.

"Yes?" Toichi asks, forcing me to continue.

"W-what year is it?"

"Huh?" Toichi asks, confused by my question.

"What year is it right now?" I repeat.

"2013, why?"

"2013," I repeat, collapsing to the ground. "How could this have happened?" I say, staring at the ground blankly.

"Kudo-kun? What is it?" Toichi asks, evidently worried by my distraught state.

"I-I was here in August, **1993**," I say, unable to avoid the truth any further. Regardless of how it happened, twenty years had somehow passed while I was in the Null Zone. Twenty years! _Time must work differently in the Null Zone_, I realize. Then Toichi's words from before hit me. Immortality. Is this what was meant by immortality? After all, twenty years have passed and I haven't changed a bit.

Another sudden thought hits me, one more important than the matter of immortality- Ran.

"Ne, Kuroba-kun," I say slowly as I force myself to stand up, "Can I ask you for a favor?"

* * *

Through the Akai Tsuki, I observe as Toichi walks up to the door and rings the bell. Footsteps could be heard from inside. The door then opens.

"Ran!" I exclaim, seeing her standing in the doorway. I feel a pang in my heart as I notice she has matured with the passing of time, but there is also a joy as I notice that she is even more beautiful than before.

"Ah, hello," Toichi greets politely, taking a slight bow. "I'm looking for a Ran-san."

"I'm Ran," Ran says, giving Toichi a curious look, "Can I help you?"

"Ah, I am here on behalf of-" Toichi begins but he is interrupted by a voice inside.

"Ran dear, who's at the door?" a man asks as he walks up from behind Ran.

"Ah, Tomoaki," Ran greets with a kiss on the man's cheeks. I feel my heart instantly sink at the sight. So Ran has moved on. Well, it's no wonder. I had suddenly vanished for twenty years. She probably thought I died or something. It's only natural that she'd move on.

"Who's that?" a little boy exclaims, running to the door as well.

"Ah, well," Ran began, looking back at Toichi.

"Now, now, let's leave mama alone, alright, Conan?" Tomoaki says, picking the child up. "I'll wait for you inside," he says, bringing the child inside the apartment.

"Sorry, uh, Kuroba-san, right?" Ran asks.

"Yes," Toichi replies.

"You said you were here on behalf of someone?"

"That's right, I'm here on behalf of-" Toichi begins but I cut him off.

"Let's go, Kuroba-kun," I say somberly. Ran has her own life now, with a husband and child. Who was I to ruin that by digging up the past. She probably forgot all about me anyways. I could feel my eyes begin to swell, but I resisted the urge to cry. "Let's go, Kuroba-kun," I repeat, trying my hardest to stop my voice from breaking.

"Kudo-kun?" Toichi asks, confused by my sudden desire to leave.

"Did you say something?" Ran asks, confused as to who Toichi is speaking with.

"Ah, sorry to bother you, Ran-san. It appears I've gotten the wrong address. Good day," Toichi says abruptly with another bow before leaving. "Are you sure about this, Kudo-kun?" Toichi asks as he walks away.

"I think this is for the best," I confirm as I try to put my mind to work on other things, like solving the mystery of Pandora, "Ne, Kuroba-kun, about Pandora, I think there's one more thing we can try."

* * *

_And so the days slowly dragged by as Kudo Shinichi and Kuroba Toichi tried to uncover the mystery of Pandora. But it was as if fate itself blocked their paths. No matter what they tried, no matter where they went, the answers eluded them. Kudo Shinichi was no closer to finding out how to return to his normal body. Kuroba Toichi was no closer to figuring out a way to get the organization off his back. For now, the two were in stasis, with Kuroba Toichi hiding the gem from the organization as insurance in order to keep his family safe. As long as he held the gem and the organization didn't know where it was, they would not move against him. But how long would the stasis last?_

_As a safety precaution, Kuroba Toichi had hidden the gem in a safe location, a place only he knew about. He'd visit periodically to strategize with Kudo Shinichi about how to solve their mutual problem. Not only that though, the two would also talk about the world outside the Null Zone, about how Japan was doing as a whole, about how technology was changing, and about Kuroba Toichi's growing son, Kuroba Kaito. And Kudo Shinichi would be overjoyed at the conversations, as they were his only source of human contact. Kuroba Toichi had become the lifeline that kept Kudo Shinichi sane. _

_Despite their efforts, the two failed to make any progress on the matter of Pandora. And slowly, the visits grew further and further apart. And suddenly, the visits stopped altogether. Kudo Shinichi wasn't surprised though and he certainly didn't blame the man. After all, Kudo Shinichi was but a mere anomaly of reality, and Kuroba Toichi had a family to take care of, a son to raise. So for Kudo Shinichi, he was once again returned to the silence of the Null Zone.  
_

_And slowly, the sands of time flowed on._


End file.
